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Postural Habits to Avoid with Heavy Manual Work
One of the keys to having a healthy spine is understanding that most spinal injuries
Back and neck pain are rarely the result of one injury or incident. One of the keys to having a healthy spine is understanding that most spinal injuries are the result of the cumulative effects of months or even years of:
- poor posture
- faulty body mechanics
- stressful living and working habits
- loss of flexibility and strength
- general lack of physical fitness
A chiropractor is able to get you back to work rapidly and often you will not need to be off work at all whilst you are undergoing treatment. The list below will help you to avoid some bad work habits which could eventually result in injury:
- Do not jolt your spine unnecessarily by jumping out of your truck, or off a high object
- Do not get your knees in the way when you lift
- Do not lift with a flexed(bent) back and/or neck
- Do not lift with the weight to far away
- Do not use your back to lift a load but your legs
- Do not reach for a heavy load
- Do not bend at the waist when shoveling , but at the hips and knees
- Do not stand in one spot and throw the load, but turn and step to keep your hips and shoulders moving on the same direction
- Do not keep a shovel away from your body, but keep the load close to your center of gravity
- Do not twist whilst keeping your lower half still as this twists your low back
- Do not lean over, whether standing or sitting, for long periods of time
- Do not twist your neck to look behind you
- Do not sit too far away from your work so that you are in effect reaching
- Do not sit with your low back unsupported
- Do not leisurely lean away from your work when sitting as this cause your neck to bend forwards into a stressful position just to be able to see.
- Do not stand or sit in one position for too long
- Do not thrust your head and neck forwards when you read, especially if you wear bifocals
- Do not work overhead for long periods of time with your neck bent backwards
- Do not stand with your knees locked, stomach muscles relaxed, and your back swayed
- Do not stand bent forward at the waist or neck with your work in a low position
